Staff Room Romance
by Batarang131
Summary: Modern AU. School teachers' romantic atmosphere exploited. New teachers are arriving and all the staff members are excited except for Katara, who has been cheated on by Jet. It takes a great toll on her but can the new staff make a difference. Kataang. Romance. Angst. Jealousy. Conflict. School. Confession. Rated K-T
1. Meet & Greet

_Chapter 1_

_This is a story about the romance that happens at work place. Focusing on Teacher romance. This story will contain Kataang and Sukka. I got the inspiration to write this story from a overheard conversation between two gossip mongers._

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><p><em>Pre plot details<em>

_This is my First ever AU story. What's the point of an AU if I can't change the ages._

_Staff_

_Aang Vaayu …...25_

_Toph Bei Fong…..25_

_Ty Lee….25_

_Suki Yoshi….26_

_Katara Aqua….26_

_Sokka Aqua ...27_

_Jet Lee…..27_

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><p><em>Assumption I took <em>

_school starts at 8am_

_Sun rises at 7am_

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><p><em>6.00AM<em>

"Wake up Katara we need to get to work."

Wailed the exasperated sibling as he was preparing a small mug of cold water. Before Katara knew what was happening her face was splashed with icy cold water. Katara coughed out the small amount of water that infiltrated her nasal passage and stood up on her bed as though preparing to fight. It was long before she realised Sokka rolling on the floor laughing. Katara looked out of the window to find that the sky was still dark.

Katara stared out and glared back at Sokka, "Why can't you just let me have a good night sleep. School doesn't start in another 2 hours. What's wrong with you?"

Sokka looked at her nonchalantly, "Katara today is technically Suki's first day at work. I want to make a good impression by getting to school before her."

Katara squinted her eyes in disbelief and asked, "Sokka you like Suki, not me. Why on earth did you wake me up? You can go there at midnight to lick her table clean for all I care."

Sokka shrugged and spoke, "I don't know… you kind of back me up whenever I screw up, and also don't you want to meet your future sister-in-law.

Katara stood up on the bed and shouted out, "MY FUTURE WHAT?!"

Sokka noticed the 'minor' tongue slip up and shook his head changing the topic, "Now get you lazy ass out of the bed and get ready for work."

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><p>Katara POV<p>

I slowly eyed his movements like a hawk in disbelief. Normally it was I who wake up first and do the morning chores before waking him up. However for the past two days Sokka has been waking up earlier than me. I knew love can create miracles, but Sokka waking up before me was beyond a miracle.

I stood up groggily from my bed. I couldn't believe I was giving in to Sokka's lame requests. I did my morning chores quickly cursing Sokka under my breath. Though I was mad at Sokka I was really curious to find out about the girl who was able to change Sokka so much. Suki.

I got out of the house to find the car out of the garage with Sokka waiting for me at the driver's seat. When I opened the door, I noticed his fingers dancing furiously on his phone, texting. I gripped my seatbelt harder when he let out an unexpected howl after reading a message.

I stared at him and wondered if we would reach school in one piece. Before I could say anything, the engines roared to life and sped out of into the drive way. The car began zooming past other cars incredibly fast. My eyes widened as I yelled, "Sokka please slow down."

Sokka laughed out, "You kidding me? She said she would like to know more about me. I am going to school right way. She is coming early as well!"

I sighed at my brother and prayed for a safe trip. "Sokka I don't think she will like to know more of a dead Sokka. Can you focus on driving first?"

Sokka gave me a glare and looked forward cheerily. If this was going to be my daily routine I would have to try to find a way to regain my lost sleep and breakfast. I was closed my eyes trying to take a short nap.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard Sokka shouting in my ears, "Katara get up we are at school!"

I opened my eyes in annoyance to see the car parked in the school. I slowly turned to my brother, who was busily digging into my handbag. He snatched out my perfume bottle, smelt its tip and sprayed it over his shirt.

"Sokka! Did you just use my perfume without my permission?" I asked fuming.

He nodded and continued to search my handbag. I scoffed, "You do realise that is women's perfume right?"

He nodded and said, "Why do you have to create gender boundary for perfumes. They are just nice smelling liquid."

I shook my head in disbelief at my brother's ignorance and opened the car door. He was really hopeless. I took in a deep breath and prepared to walk towards the general office but Sokka pulled my left arm and dragged me directly towards the staffroom. I snarled, "Sokka I am in dilemma; whether I should kill you or to kill Suki for making you go nuts."

Sokka chuckled as he tapped the Staff ID at the door and peeped inside. I saw a wide grin forming over his face. He slowly turned towards me. I blinked at him in confusion wondering what he wanted me to do. He whispered in a low raspy voice, "Katara she is inside…alone. What should I do?"

I stared at him in disbelief, "Oh gee Sokka I don't know?...YOU BROUGHT ME TO WORK AT 6.30 TO TELL ME YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?" He placed a finger over his mouth pleading me to be silent. I snapped at him, "I don't care Sokka you either go and talk to her or let me kill you. What do you want?"

Sokka took in a deep breath and entered the staffroom with me following him. He slowly led me through rows of empty cabins into an occupied cabin. He silently pointed to her and whispered, "Suki". I could clearly see the excitement that was shining in his eyes. He slowly leaned his elbow over a huge stack of paper admiring her. However before he knew anything the stack gave away and Sokka fell right into it. I couldn't help but giggle at my clumsy brother. The sound of the sheets however brought the lady's attention.

She turned a chair to see Sokka in a mess. She looked beautiful alright. No wonder Sokka fell for her. Literally and figuratively! I quickly ducked to prevent being associated with the accident. She raised her left eyebrow and asked, "Mr. Aqua what are you doing in my students profile pile?" Sokka gave a sheepish smile as he brainstormed for a comeback. I patiently waited for Sokka's response.

"I ugh…wanted to see if… I can swim in a pile of paper?" Sokka spoke with a slight uncertainty in his tone. I smacked my head and silently whispered, "Okay he is gone!"

I expected Suki to look at him in a weird way but instead I heard a crackle of laughter. Okay something awkward is definitely going on between them. I stood up to introduce myself. I walked into the cabin confidently and held my hand out to greet her, "Hi…you must be the new School counselor, and I am Katara!"

Suki looked up at me and smiled as she took my hand, "You must be Sokka's sister. Sokka's told me a lot about you." She slowly turned her gaze to my hair and said, "Your hair doesn't look hideous, I honestly kind of like them."

I was taken aback by that response; I tried to be polite and spoke, "Excuse me?"

She smiled as she said, "No I was not trying to offend you, and Sokka was telling me that your hair is hideous and stuff. It's actually really beautiful."

I glared at my brother as he slowly looked away cowering in fear. Suki broke the death glare as she asked me, "Do you two always come to work this early?"

I shook my head and smiled, "Not really it just so happens that Sokka wanted to come to work early today for some reason. Therefore I had to follow him."

Sokka was pleading me to not tell her anything about his crush on her. I could get used to some fun teasing him every now and then…

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><p>Suki turned out to be a nice person. Though we just met, it seemed like we were friends like since high school.<p>

We laughed at random stuff about ourselves over some coffee early in the morning. She smiled and said, "You remind me of my brother. You guys should really meet each other." Though she meant on a friendly basis what Sokka told me last night made me choke on my coffee. This was the third time I heard about this guy.

The day slowly rolled by. I only had two lessons that day. I sighed as I slumped in my seat trying to relax. I fished out my phone and started to check on my "to-do" list if there was anything left.

"Water bending training – check

Biology class 9K – check

Biology class 8A – Check

Meet new female teacher/ Sokka's crush– Check

Meet new male teacher – Pending…"

I sighed at the last one. Guess I would have to find out about him some other day. For all I know he could be another jerk. But then all the comments about him from the past two days were pretty positive. I was in dilemma whether to meet Aang or not. Before I knew anything someone tapped on my back. I turned my chair to face Suki glowing with excitement.

She smiled cheerily and spoke, "Hey Katara, Sokka and I are going out for dinner tonight. Do you want to join?"

I blinked at her in confusion, I knew Sokka was straightforward but this was extremely fast. I didn't expect him to ask her on a date within two days. I shook my head and said, "No Suki I don't think I am free today plus Sokka won't like me to join you for sure."

Suki giggled and said, "He was the one who wanted you to come"

I was wondering what he had in mind. Normally people would want to be alone with their date. But of course Sokka is no normal person. I smiled and nodded, "If he said so."

She slowly walked out of my cabin and shouted along the way, "We will pick you up from your house at 7 PM."

I took out my phone and updated the list as I wondered what she meant by 'We'. But then I shrugged it off and went back to marking some of the assignments. After some time I checked my wrist watch to notice that it was 5.30 PM. I sighed and decided to call it a day.

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><p>I slowly tidied my desk and started walking towards Sokka's cabin to find him missing. However that wasn't the only thing that was amiss about Sokka's cabin. Sokka's signature mess was missing from his table. I shook my head at the miracles that love can create and walked out towards the car park. I looked at my usual parking location to find my car missing. I groaned as I cursed him under my breath. Though our house was nearby I still hated him doing stuff without telling me.<p>

I gritted my teeth and started making my way out when I sensed a pair of hands wrapping around my waistline roughly. I looked behind to notice Jet. I tried to struggle free from his grasp but I couldn't. He came close to my ear and whispered, "Oh did Sokka leave you alone. Don't worry. Schools over all the students are gone. You are alone with me."

He roughly turned me to face him. He caressed my cheeks with his rough hands and spoke, "Darling you look amazing. Come on let me pay your beauty some respect."

He slowly inched forward making kissy faces at me. I squirmed as I tried to yell for help. He pushed me over the nearest car's door and pressed his weight against me. I was trapped. His hands ran over my clothing. Tears started forming over my eyes. I shut my eyes tightly as I prayed that he would stop. I was able to feel his hot breath against my neck. However suddenly I felt all the weight lift off me followed by a huge gust of wind dishevelling my hair. I could no longer sense his breath. I opened my eyes to see him lying down a few meters away from me.

Jet got up and shook his head, "Get out of here newbie. This doesn't concern you!" his gaze was fierce. I slowly followed his gaze to look at my saviour.

He was a tall man of solid build. He was standing in an air-bending stance. He took in a deep breath as he spoke, "I don't want to fight but I don't think you are supposed to be doing that to your colleague."

Jet looked at him angrily and said, "She is my girlfriend, I can do what I want with her. It is none of your business." With that he charged at the air bender at full speed. However before Jet knew anything the air bender dodged his blow, sending him to the floor.

His silvery eyes scanned me for a second and looked back at Jet as he said, "I don't believe both of you were sharing the same excitement." I sniffled a sob as I watched him air bend at Jet. I was stunned at the level of mastery he possessed.

As soon as the fight began it ended. With a couple of swift bending movements he unleashed immense power at Jet. He slowly walked over to help Jet up. He smiled and spoke, "We should respect women and not ill-treat them. I am sorry for air bending against…" However before he finished, Jet, being the usual ass, pushed him away and ran shouting, "You will pay for this Aang!"

My ears shot up at the name. This was probably the worst introduction I could ever get. I closely watched him through the corner of my eye, ashamed. The Air bender shrugged as he looked at the scurrying Jet before focusing his gaze on me. He slowly ambled towards me. I wiped away the tears as I prepared to thank him. He came next to me and asked me in concerned tone, "Are you alright?" I nodded and finally looked at his face. Holy!..

He was far from what people might even consider remotely unattractive. He was gorgeous. He had the most sparkling silver eyes. Normally the Air benders that I used to meet were old monks however this man just changed my perception about Air benders completely. Though it was just a physical attraction I now kind of had an idea why all the female staff went crazy over him. He snapped his fingers in front of my face, "Hello are you still in there?"

I blinked at him in confusion, "Huh?"

He let out a light chuckle and said, "This is probably the worst way to introduce myself…I am Aang. I can see you are still in a daze."

I coughed and spoke, "Thank you; if you had not been there I don't know what might have happened."

He let out a warm smile that melted my insides. I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't met him before Jet. His smile slowly turned into a frown as he choked on the words, "Your shirt is …torn." I could sense heat rising up to my cheeks. Why must fate be so cruel to me? I immediately tried to cover my revealing back but failed to do so.

Before I knew anything I saw him removing his shirt. He handed me his shirt and said, "Don't worry its not sweaty. This is probably not your fashion sense but I bet it beats a torn shirt."

I smiled weakly as I took the shirt from him. Initially I was stunned by his generosity but soon something else caught my attention. I saw him. I couldn't take my eyes of his well toned muscles. His abs was very well defined. He was either flexing to show off his muscles or his muscles were just there to tease the hell out of me. Did someone sculpt him…? "God Katara get back together!" I scolded myself realizing how pathetic I was around him.

While I was staring at him, he was busy texting someone on his phone. He looked up at me and spoke, "I better start running, or I will be in trouble with my sister. Catch you later." With that he began his rhythmic jog out of the school compound.

I smiled as he started running off. He was far from being a jerk like Jet for sure. He was probably one of the rare gentlemen that you get to see in the 21st century. I wore his shirt over mine as I walked towards my house. I could still smell his scent in the shirt. Though the attraction I felt was shallow, I could help but sense something more to the feeling.

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><p>AQUA HOUSE<p>

I stomped into the house and slouched on the couch. Sokka who was busily flossing his teeth finally took notice of me.

He looked at the shirt I was wearing and shrieked, "KATARA WHY ARE YOU WEARING A MALE SHIRT? Please don't tell me Jet did something?"

I sighed and said, "Sokka relax nothing happened." He shifted his weight slanting it giving a off a sceptical look. "I mean Jet did try to take advantage of me but the new male teacher stopped him."

Sokka relaxed and slumped on the couch next to me, "I told you he was a nice guy, now what do you think of him?"

I sighed and spoke, "I think he is a great guy…friend. I mean no one would be willing to go shirtless in this cold season. Even you won't do that for me or Suki!"

Sokka opened his mouth to object but then stopped himself knowing that it was a losing battle fighting against me.

He stiffly stood up and asked cheerily, "So Katara…How do I look?"

I looked at his suit and raised my left eyebrow as I nodded silently and unsurely. My eyes suddenly shot up as I asked, "Now Sokka can you tell me why you wanted me to join you for YOUR date?"

Sokka smiled and said, "I am just that awesome. Now will stop yapping and go to your room and find something nice to wear.

I mumbled a faint okay as I stood up and walked towards my room. Little did I realise my brother sniggering.

_End of Katara POV for this chapter_

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><p><em>Aang POV begins<em>

I slowly started Jogging home as I wondered about what happened back at school. I saved this girl from that freak Jet. Honestly that girl deserved a better man. Not Jet. He is so screwed up and that girl …well is just too pretty. Those eyes were probably the most beautiful things that I have seen in my entire life.

The cold evening breeze started rushing over my sweaty body as I finally made it to my house. I opened the door and stumbled in. Before I knew anything I was lying on the couch with my nose squashed. I heard Suki whistle from the kitchen teasingly and said, "Looks like someone had a major work out at the streets! How many vehicles did you knock down?"

I looked up at her in confusion, "What do you mean?" still panting hard.

Suki giggled and said, "You know it's pretty hard to not notice a young handsome muscular man with bright blue tattoos jogging in the street."

I slowly stood up and splashed cold water over my face and spoke, "Stop buttering me up. I saved a girl who was about to be molested by Jet. Unfortunately her shirt was torn so I had to give her mine. All in a day's work for the Avatar." I chuckled lightly and put on a new plain shirt.

Suki paused at those words and said, "Aang don't say that aloud. We are supposed to keep a low profile. Remember?"

I nodded and sighed, "Suki I know you really like Sokka and stuff. And I am really not going to object you from dating him. But…"

Suki raised her eyebrows and asked, "But what?"

"But why do you want me to join you? I know I am not supposed to feel this way about my half sister, but I seriously don't want to see you kissing a guy in front of me."

Suki placed her finger over my mouth and smiled, "Aang relax I always do stuff that is good for both you and me. Now go get a shower and change to something nice. We only have another 30 minutes."

I groaned at her as I walked towards my room.

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><p>To be continued<p>

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><p><em>Things are going to get awkward. That's where the fun comes in. Well I am not done writing it but I will post it eventually.<em>

_Please let me know if something is lacking in this. __If you want to see something in this genre please let me know._


	2. The Date

_Chapter 2_

_This chapter is going to be dark as hell. I don't know what I was thinking. Its my first time trying a dark and sad theme. Please let me know what you think!_

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><p>Aang POV<p>

I groaned as Suki adjusted my suit, "Suki do I really have to wear this? It is your date. I am just going to stay there talking to my salad."

"Don't worry Aang you will be talking to something better this time." Suki giggled as she got in the car. I sighed and took the drivers seat, "Where to, Miss Suki Yoshi?"

Suki smiled as she barked, "Off to the Aqua house!"

I shook my head as I started the engine and started driving. I reached their house within a few minutes. I slowly parked my car in front of their house. Suki jumped out of the car and opened my door. She tugged on my sleeves like a child and pulled me out. I groaned, "Suki let go of my sleeve. I will come out. Are you happy now?"

Suki smiled playfully at me. I groaned as I thought of how awkward it was going to be driving them to the restaurant. I felt like I was being used as a chauffeur for Suki. Well of course, I was being used as a chauffeur. Well at least I got to strike off being a chauffeur as one of my Avatar to do job list. Though I wanted to yell at her, I maintained my cool comportment. I watched Suki as she yelled out at the house, "Sokka! Katara! Are you in there?"

My ears shot up at the name. Katara? Oh yeah Sokka's Sister. Well its time to introduce myself. I straightened my suit as I turned towards them to look at the woman who was referred to as Katara and yelped. I saved the same woman that evening. My eyes widened as I looked at her. Holy!...

She looked insanely beautiful. She wore a thin blue robe that outlined her slender body. Thin lashes framed her emerald blue eyes. Her silky hair streamed down in waves to adorn her flawless tan skin. I couldn't help but be stunned by her beauty. This woman definitely deserved someone better than Jet. They slowly opened the side doors and got in.

Meanwhile Suki gave me a stern look and said, "Aang will you stop acting like a shy idiot and be normal."

I was shaken out of my daze as I responded, "This is the same girl that I saved this evening."

Suki beamed as she spoke, "Isn't that great? You guys know each other's back already! Literally!"

I scoffed silently, "Ha Ha very funny. You set this up didn't you?"

Suki smirked, "So what if I did? For all you know tonight might actually be fun."

I groaned as I got in the drivers seat. Suki sat next to me and constantly tried to make eye contact with Sokka. I saw the Aqua siblings staring at each other through the rear mirror. Katara let out a sigh. Something told me that the siblings went through a discussion similar to the one I had with Suki. I started the engine and began driving towards the restaurant.

Before Katara and I knew Sokka walked off hand in hand with Suki to a nearby table. I looked at Katara and sensed that she was feeling equally awkward. I sighed and let out an unsure laugh, "Well guess they kind of ditched us."

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><p>Katara POV<p>

I sensed him feeling awkward about the evening's events. I smiled back at him weakly and decided to break the ice, "Yeah, how about we use this time to introduce us proper?"

Aang smiled as he stretched out his hand and shook my hands gently, "I am Aang, new Physics teacher."

I smiled back and said, "Katara biology teacher."

With that, we sat down on another table that was reserved for us. We both ordered some food and waited for it. It was definitely awkward.

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><p><em>SokkaSuki table_

_Normal POV_

Suki glanced at Aang before leaning towards Sokka, "Do you think our plan will work."

Sokka who was previously admiring her didn't catch the question. He gave her a dreamy look and spoke, "Why am I so lucky"

Suki smacked his head and said, "Will you shut up Sokka. Our purpose here today is to hook up our siblings."

Sokka's shook his head to get out of his trance and spoke, "Though I feel disgusted doing this I wouldn't trust my sister with anyone else."

Suki shot him a confused smile and asked, "How do you know Aang?"

Sokka's eyebrows shot up in shock as he gave an unsure laugh, "I don't think you know about this but I have had a crush on you ever since high school. And what is a better way to talk to you other than befriend your brother."

Suki couldn't help it but giggle at Sokka's hopelessness. Sokka smiled and spoke, "You know back then everything was so different. Aang was previously the weakling of our group. Now he is probably the hottest guy. You were so beautiful back then…" Sokka bit his tongue as he noticed his tongue slip.

Suki glared at him and said, "And NOW…"

Sokka raised his hands as though surrendering and cried, "YOU are more beautiful now.

Suki playfully cheered and said, "I was just messing with you with you." She spoke as her eyes wandered towards the other 'couple', "So what do you think they are talking about."

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><p>Meanwhile at the other couple's table...<p>

Katara scooped up a few greens from her salad and ate it while telling Aang of an incident at class, "…Then he stood up saying that his grandmother used his homework as an oil extractor and threw it away. That was funniest excuse that I have heard from a student."

Aang let out a hearty laugh as he said, "I don't have much experience teaching but when I was studying I once tried a witty mathematical answer to escape the punishment. When my teacher asked me for my homework I stood up and said 'It is currently under 12, 477.7 Kpa pressure as my pet lemur buried it.'" Both Aang and Katara laughed together.

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><p><strong>Katara POV continues<strong>

I laughed as I thought of how much fun I ended getting whilst next to Aang. Normally most guys would just laugh at my lame humour sense however Aang tried his best to relate to me. Throughout the entire duration, Jet didn't even rise up in my mind. We slowly walked out of the restaurant into the park nearby. We decided to walk home instead of using the car.

The pale moonlight lit the ambiance. A chilly wind was brewing all around us. I tucked my arms close to myself to preserve heat. Without us even realising the distance between the two of us reduced drastically. The feeling of exhilaration took control of me at each point of contact. I could honestly get used to this. Though the conversation between us was limited, the silence was not one bit awkward.

Aang's phone suddenly beeped as he started to type in a message furiously. I slowly peeked at his phone secretly to notice a girl's name on the screen. I cursed the spirits as I wondered "Just when you show me an amazing guy"

Aang soon finished texting and sighed as he looked back at me with his moonlight glistening grey eyes. I forced a smile and asked, "Girlfriend trouble?"

Aang's eyebrows rose in bewilderment as he shook his head, "No no. It was just my student who was asking me a question. I knew it was against the rules to give students my number but I thought it would be good if I could break the student teacher boundary. Besides I have no girlfriend."

Though one part of me was happy, that he didn't have a girlfriend, another part became extremely curious. I looked at him closely and asked, "Why not?"

Aang became a bit flustered as he wiped the edges of his mouth with a napkin and said, "You wouldn't want to know?"

Though I was not supposed to be, snooping around in his personal issue what he had said just made my curiosity worse. I gave him a concerned look and spoke, "Aang if it is making you feel bad, please share it with me. It might help you relieve some stress."

Aang looked back at me unsure and spoke, "Katara you don't have to do this for me."

I shook my head vigorously and said, "I do Aang, after what you did for me this evening I am pretty sure I have to be at least a good friend. Please tell me…"

He sipped on the glass of water and let out a cough signifying his nervousness. I could see the child like fire within Aang eyes slowly diminishing. His previously up beat attitude was waning.

"Suki and I aren't really siblings." He said silently as my eyes widened. "It is not a time period that I wish to remember. When I was young i used to love my parents with all my heart. My parents brought me up to be the Air bender that I am today. They were many things to me. A best friend. A wise Father. A loving mother. However, one thing that hey could never accomplish was see me to be the person I am today."

He spoke as he purposely avoided eye contact with me, "When I was twelve my entire family had to go to the fire nation for a yearly business re-establishment. It used to be one of my favorite times of the year as my dad and I used to have a lot of fun bending. I loved them with all my heart. Just when I thought this was going to last forever, a group of fire nation bandits took them hostage. I tried to save them with all my might however before I knew anything they were killed right in front of me. All I could do was stare at how gravity was finally able to act on my family as they fell head down to the ground. It was as if my world just shattered in one day. I was slowly robbed of all my family fortune by my relatives and i incidentally lost almost all of my friends"

"That's when Suki's family took me in. If not for her I would not have been standing in front of you." He finished wiping a small drop of tear from his eyes.

I felt terrible. Memories about my mom came back to me. I looked at his tear brimming silvery eyes as I spoke, "Is that why you don't want to have a girlfriend?"

Aang nodded silently and spoke, "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. I am just a curse. I don't want to lose anyone else who is close to me. "

I wiped away the tears and put a hand over his shoulder. He spoke facing away from me, "Sorry for sharing my sorrows with you. You are probably thinking I am some loser. I didn't expect a beautiful girl like you to even go on a date with me. It was a pleasure…"

I couldn't help it but fall in love with him more and more as he spoke. I slowly walked closer to him and hugged him tightly not caring what he thought. I hugged him not willing to let him go of him. I slowly took in his scent as I sensed his startled figure starting to embrace me with his long arms. The warmth that we shared blanked our minds, as all the previous clouds of sorrow were drowned out. Though it was just a hug, I definitely enjoyed the feeling of being so close to him.

He slowly broke the hug as he spoke, "Thanks Katara, no one other than Suki has ever done anything that nice for me. Normally whenever I tell this story to any other girl they always think of me as a hopeless loser and don't want anything related to me."

"Well next time you are feeling down you know who to call. Are you feeling better right now?" I asked forcing a smile trying to cheer the mood. Before we both knew it, we reached my home. We were in a dilemma on how to bid good-bye as we ended up shaking our hands due to the over bearing awkwardness that was present.

Later that night, I couldn't sleep as I was constantly wondering about Aang. I wondered why I had to meet Jet before Aang. I wasted precious time of my life with a useless jerk. I was able to feel Aang's pain and suffering. Yet he was still forcing a happy and cheery attitude in front of everyone else. I couldn't believe that someone could face so many tragedies and yet live life to the fullest. Previously I only fell for his physical appearance however currently his physical appearance was merely a distraction to his already amazing personality and character. I have never met someone with so much pain and vigor hidden within and yet not show it to others. I couldn't help but feel more attracted to him. If only there was a way to alleviate his pain. If only there was a way to share his burden.

* * *

><p>The wooden floor creaked under the weight of the looming demigod in the warehouse.<p>

"Have we gathered enough manpower at Republic city?" came the booming voice from the darkness.

"Not yet sir but the drugs are ready to be initiated at twenty different schools throughout republic city. The work has been recently slowed down as there are rumours about the Avatar is working undercover"

"How much does he know?" the voice boomed once again through the old dilapidated wooden house.

The messenger felt like he was about to shit bricks. This was not a common mob leader who was struggling to keep his men. One simple misstep and that might be the end of the messenger.

"Not muc..Much I believe sir. No one knows how the Avatar looks like. All we know is that the avatar is a twenty five year old male" the messenger spoke with his fingers trembling, "...but believe me sir we are trying our best... We are trying our level best!...Sir"

The shadowed figure took in a deep breath, "I need information about the Avatar. You may leave."

The messenger blinked and placed his palm over to his chest to see if it was still beating. Yes it was. He blinked and bowed deeply before slowly edging out of the wooden mansion that was hidden in the forest.

If there were two things, he knew about the shadowed leader, it was one not to mess with him under any circumstance. And the two you got to have some guts to even utter his name. To the city he was known as the agent for chaos and destruction. His name was Amon.

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><p>Thank you for your continued support. I am not very satisfied with this chapter. This was my first attempt at writing a tragedy. as you can also see I have added Amon to the story. Please tell me if I should proceed on with this style or do you want more romantic banter mixed with comedy. Please let me know what you think in the reviews. THANK YOU.<p> 


	3. Confession I

**_Chapter 3_**

_**Okay fellow friends. I realised that both chapters had a huge emphasis on Katara POV. Since we now know that Katara has a crush on Aang. Its time to bump up Aang's part.**_

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><p><em><strong>A few weeks have past<strong>_

**Aang POV**

"Wake up sleepy head we need to go to school" Suki shrieked inside my ears as I jumped out of bed.

I groggily rubbed my eyes trying to make sense of what was going around me. I saw Suki laughing her head off.

I gritted my teeth as I spoke, "Suki don't tell me we are going to school early once again. Even school kids don't wake up this early"

Suki nodded ecstatically as she threw me my office shirt. I lightly cursed her as I wore my shirt and got in the car. "Honestly I have not had a good night sleep for a long time."

Suki giggled as she faked a responsible voice, "You should be more proactive like me."

I snorted, "Yeah sure because Sokka is just going to be there coincidentally."

The rest of the ride went pretty smoothly I slowly parked my car in the almost desolate school car park. I walked through the campus towards the sole light source, the staff room. It was as though walking through a ghost house. Plus the fact that it was still dark didn't really help. Though I was feeling sleepy Suki mercilessly dragged me towards the staff room.

I stumbled into the staff room to find Sokka standing in the in front of a very bored looking Katara, adjusting his collar. Sokka turned around to look at us, and gleamed. Katara stood up and welcomed us with a hearty smile. Though I didn't want to admit, Katara looked too beautiful to be left unnoticed. She looked at me and signaled me to take a seat beside her.

She whispered giggling, "I thought I was going to be suffering alone with these two. Good thing I have some company right now."

I chuckled and asked, "Let me guess you were woken up by Sokka shouting in your ear."

"Not quite, he used a bucket of cold water on me"

My eyes widened as I spoke, "Glad Suki hasn't stooped to that level."

Before we knew it the couple in front of us started canoodling as what you may call it in decent terms. I honestly couldn't take it anymore. Maybe I was gaining some sort of possessive brother complex, but still …not in front of me!

I stood up and nearly shouted, "Are you guys really doing this at a freaking high school. You can't do this here!"

Sokka averted his eyes towards me with a irritated look and smiled, "Aang are you going to give that crap right now? By the way school is outside the staffroom." He said pointing to the exit door and continued.

I looked helpless as I slumped on the chair next to Katara. Just then I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I turned towards Katara to see her smiling at me, "As they said the exit is right there."

I looked up at Sokka once more and slowly edged out of their fluffy romantic banter brewing session with Katara. Once outside we burst out laughing. The sky was slowly turning to a light shade of blue. We walked towards the staff cafeteria and placed our orders. Staff members leisurely started to stream in. I noticed that she was buying a vegetarian meal, along with mine. I smiled as I took my seat.

"You know I don't really mind if you buy meat."

She placed the tray on the table and smiled, "I don't mind eating non-meat for a while, plus it is also healthier in the morning."

I crooked my eyebrows as I wondered how different the siblings were. Sokka wouldn't be able to cross a meal without meat and sarcastic jokes. However Katara was probably the complete opposite of Sokka. I nodded and started on my meal. Over the past few weeks we got to know more about each other. She was turning out to be a really good friend. To be honest she was probably the best friend I have ever seen. Though her astounding beauty was hard to not notice, it was actually her character and compassion that she held for her fellow friends and colleagues that caught my attention. However, there remained one thing she was constantly trying to avoid from telling me about. About Jet.

"Um Katara I know this is a really personal question but may I know what was happening that day?"

She gave me a weird look, "which day?"

"The day we met…I mean I saw Mr Lee coming close to you…And you were crying…I didn't really do anything wrong did I? You know like …spoil your relationship or anything."

She smiled and looked up at me nervously, "No Aang if not for you I don't know what might have happened yesterday."

"So who is he anyway, is he a teacher or a general staff?" I said taking a sip from my coffee.

She sighed, "Aang can we not talk about him right now? He is just a jerk! That's all you need to know!"

I was taken aback by that response. This was probably the first time I saw her getting angry at something. _However, that wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. I saw her tan cheeks slowly turning red from her rant._

I nodded silently as I asked doubtfully, "I didn't ruin your relationship, did I?"

Katara shook her head and looked down at her coffee, "There was no form of personal relationship to be ruined."

I raised my eyebrows slightly, "What do you mean?" I knew I had no right –slash business in her life, however after what she did for me at the restaurant I definitely needed to return the favour.

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><p><strong>Katara's POV<strong>

Why Jet? Why does he have to spoil my morning with that pig? I scanned his silvery eyes to see it flushed with concern and curiosity. I tried to hide Jet being my ex boyfriend from Aang's knowledge for the past week, however now…

"Katara are you okay? If you don't want to share with me its fine. I completely understand. We just met two week ago yadda yadda I know" Aang said with a silent sigh.

"No no it's nothing like that…It's just that I am afraid you might… judge me." I blurted out trying to avoid his eye contact.

Aang's eyes widened as he shook his head, "Judge you? I would never judge you. Besides I already know the type of person you are."

I stared at him blankly. _What was that supposed to mean? _I was in a dilemma whether to tell Aang about Jet or not. I took in a deep breath hoping not to seem to dumb, however the words that flowed out had no form of control as they started spilling out.

"Jet was my ex boyfriend. I used to like him… a lot. I trusted him so much. I was earning well, had the satisfaction of teaching and had a 'loving' boyfriend. Life seemed perfect." I said as I stared at the intricate designs on the table reflecting about the time I spent with Jet. I slowly glanced at Aang who nodded understandingly and gestured me to continue.

"However he just backstabbed me by stringing me along with another woman because I was too boring. It was not long after I found out that he was after my ancestral property. I couldn't help but feel devastated by him. It took me a long time to overcome it."

I traced my hands over to my mom's necklace, "After my mother died, he was the first one I opened up to. And all he could do was insult me and break my heart." I said shedding a small drop of tear wistfully. I avoided eye contact with Aang as I felt like I was being exposed. I felt like I just made myself so vulnerable. I just let my bad side slip out in front of the guy that I had a crush on. Ugh I hate my life.

I closed my eyes and prepared to get up when I sensed something warm and soft wrapping my hand. My muscles tensed up as I felt a gentle squeeze on my palm. I opened my eyes to see Aang's slender palms wrapped around mine. His thumb was rubbing the back of my wrist soothingly. He took in a deep breath as he spoke, "I am so sorry Katara. I am not really sure of how to reassure you but… just to let you know… Jet is an insane jerk who let go of such a wonderful and beautiful person."

I could feel my cheeks getting hotter at his comment. _Did he just call me wonderful and beautiful person? He isn't supposed to say that! He is not supposed to be that nice! He is supposed to look at me weirdly and try to escape! He is supposed to spurn me like a jerk. He is supposed to…oh who am I kidding its Aang. Only Aang!_

"Thanks"

I said uneasily as he unleashed a contagious smile and stood up signifying that it was time to get back. Will I ever get bored of that smile? Never.

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><p>"Today you are gathered at this premise to witness the dissemination of the drugs to twenty schools in Ba Sing Se via teacher of the respective schools." Came the booming voice of the underworld leader Amon from the shadowy stage.<p>

"This drug will start from with these twenty schools and spread across the entire nation and beyond within weeks. If that happens, the world will be at our mercy! Benders of all age and nationality would have to kneel before our symbol!" he said as huge red banners with the the equality symbol donned the arena.

Cheers of all sorts erupted through the chamber of meeting. If there was one thing everyone knew it was that the sign of victory is near when Amon was your leader.

"I have received information that the Avatar is out there trying to sniff us out like a dog. Do not be afraid. If he dares to interfere in our business we finish him once and for all. And if anyone tries to play cahoots, pray for your luck to not run out."

Curses were shot out against the Avatar mercilessly. It was only a time before the illumination of the stage went out.

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><p>I sighed and slumped back into my seat at the staff room. The day was more or less over for me. My mind slowly drifted towards Aang. The thought about hugging Aang lingered in my mind. The closeness that I felt when I was with him was just unimaginably pleasant. A small unexpected chuckle escaped my lips as I wondered about Aang being shirtless during our first meeting.<p>

A small smile plastered over my face. Do I really like him, or do I just carry a blind infatuation? Aang was indeed a great person. He definitely wasn't a jerk. He tried his best to understand me. He was irritatingly sweet and unbelievably understanding. Not to mention annoyingly good looking. He was probably the dream boy any girl would want. But...

"Woah! Sugarqueen can you at least try to lift your feet off the ground? You are giving me a headache." Toph snorted as leaned on my desk. I blinked out of my trance and looked at the blind earth bender. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down. Toph had this annoying talent to hear other's heart beat.

"So who is it about?" Toph asked nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" I asked trying immensely hard to conceal my liking for Aang. I slowly lifted my feet off the ground.

"You think lifting your feet off the ground is going to save you. I must be a meat-head to not realize you are hiding something. Now spill it."

"NOTHING!…nothing important. Just some silly stuff." I said cursing Toph's straight-forwardness silently.

"Whatever! I don't wanna know about your mushy wet dreams." She said lightly tapping on the floor. I blushed furiously and thought of protesting but knew it would be useless against her. She slowly folded her arms, "I came here to ask if you wanna hangout with us today?"

"Oh sorry I am kinda busy marking today." I said, still in partial daze.

"Come on Sweetness, its Friday for crying out loud. Can't you just put your uptight strict teacher role off for a weekend and have some fun." She sighed casting her pale eyes straight at my face.

"I can be fun when I want to. You guys go ahead." I said absentmindedly as Toph pulled a forced shrug.

"Really?… cause the girls and I wanted to give Suki and Aang a proper inauguration. You know the usual playful ragging …" she said casually as she slowly made her way out of the cabin.

I let a loud oh escape my lips as if realization finally hit me. _Wait did she just say Aang was going out with them? _My eyes widened as I looked at the stack of homework that I had to mark. _Marking_ _can wait, cant it? Of course!_ I stood up and ran after Toph.

"Toph! Wait up! I am free this evening…we can hangout. No problem!" I said attempting not to sound as though I was desperate. Toph's stolid face contorted into a malicious smile.

"I thought you had to mark some scripts." Toph asked cheekily. I knew I was caught however after befriending Toph; I had almost no amount of self esteem or morale to maintain. No one can hide anything from Toph. It's like she would be able to hack into your conscience and steal information out just by 'glaring'. I grunted with displeasure, "Just tell me where to meet."

"At the car park right after school. See ya Sweetness!" Toph spoke nonchalantly and left smirking.

I looked at my watch and sighed.

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><p>TO BE CONTINUED<p>

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><p><strong>Please let me know how you want the story to move on from here. As you might have realized I removed the previous , "The Arrival" Chapter as I felt that it was merely a rambling prologue. I will make subsequent changes to the other chapters to ensure that there is clean flow in the story. <strong>

**Please leave a review and fav/follow the story if you like it or want to know more about what's going on. Thank you!**


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